Balkans

The remains of 28 victims from the 1974 Cyprus conflict were buried on Thursday (July 12th) in separate ceremonies in the northern Turkish and southern Greek part of the island. The DNA analysis identified 13 Cypriot Turks and 15 Cypriot Greeks whose remains were found earlier this month in mass …

If renewed negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo Albanian leaders regarding Kosovo’s future status fail to bear fruit, former UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari’s plan eventually will be implemented, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner indicated on Thursday (July 12th) following a meeting with Serbian counterpart Vuk Jeremic in Belgrade.

The former Serbian government, headed by current Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, unveiled a draft restitution law days before reaching an agreement on a new ruling coalition.

In his first major step as High Representative in BiH, Miroslav Lajcak ordered the dismissal Tuesday (July 10th) of a senior Bosnian Serb police commander and the suspension of 36 officers suspected of involvement in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.

Parliament’s latest round of voting for a president failed on Tuesday (July 10th) evening because none of the candidates managed to attract the required 84 votes.

The Libyan Supreme Court on Wednesday (July 11th) upheld the death sentences of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor who has been given Bulgarian citizenship.

Kosovo will inevitably gain independence, and it would be better if the transition to its new status is orderly, a senior US diplomat said on Tuesday (July 10th) after a meeting with Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica.

Two years after Macedonian authorities started transferring responsibility to the local level, the second phase of the country’s decentralisation plan is under way. Earlier this month, five municipalities, out of a total 85, asked to take over financial responsibility in several areas.

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has a new top international envoy. Slovak diplomat Miroslav Lajcak took over the post of high representative and EU special representative (EUSR) on July 1st, succeeding Germany’s Christian Schwarz-Schilling.

Bulgarian nurse Snezhana Dimitrova has spent eight years in a Libyan jail and her family is convinced that a court there will on Wednesday confirm the death sentences passed on her and five other foreign medics.